Have You Ever Wondered...

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Did you know that the world around you — whether it's your backyard, a neighborhood park or even your school playground — is full of animals? It's true…even if you can't always see them.

If you know what to look for, though, you just might be able to tell what animals have been hanging around and where they went. No matter how small it may be, all animals leave some evidence behind when they move through the world.

You can track animals in your backyard or a local park. For a real adventure, though, visit a nearby state park or forest and hit the trails. It can be a lot of fun to be an animal detective, searching for footprints, paw prints and hoof prints!

As you move, your feet leave tell-tale footprints that show where you've been. Animals are the same way. Of course, you can't always see these tracks easily. For example, tracking a rabbit hopping through thick grass would not be an easy task.

Sand and hard-packed dirt can make it easier to see animal tracks. However, it's much easier to track animals traveling through snow or mud. So you might want to wait until just after it rains or snows to give tracking a try.

Animal tracking isn't easy, but with a little forethought and some basic information, you can identify some basic animal tracks. Before you set out on your trackingadventure, think about the kinds of animals you know live in your area.

For example, if you know that squirrels, rabbits and birds live in your area, it's likely that you'll find tracks from some or all of these animals. Likewise, if you can't identify a particular track, it's probably not from a hippopotamus, giraffe or zebra…unless you live in Africa!

So let's say you find an animal track. How can you tell what animal made it? Here are a few clues you can use to unravel the mystery.

If the track has four toes on both the front and back feet, you're probably looking at a track from a member of the dog family (dog, coyote, wolf or fox) or the cat family (cat, lynx or bobcat). If the track has small, triangular marks in front of the toes, those are claw marks, which mean the track is probably from a dog, not a cat.

If the track has four toes on the front foot and five toes on the back foot, it's from a rodent, such as a mouse, chipmunk, squirrel, woodchuck or porcupine. Five toes on each of the front and back feet point toward a raccoon, a bear, a beaver, an opossum or a member of the weasel family, such as a weasel, badger, skunk or otter. Two-toed tracks are usually left by deer.

Animals that hop, such as squirrels and rabbits, often leave interesting tracks. As they hop along, their bigger back feet land ahead of their smaller front feet.

When you find tracks, try to follow them as far as you can. In which direction was the animal moving? Where do you think it was going? If you're having trouble following the tracks, one trick you can use is to keep the print between you and the Sun. Doing so allows the light to cast shadows in the print to make it stand out more from its surroundings.

Wonder Words (13)

Wonder What's Next?

Hey mate! We hope you check in with us tomorrow for some fun with kings, queens and knights!

Try It Out

Ready to get tracking? Before you head out into the wild, take some time to check out these fun online activities that will help you to begin to understand what you'll be looking for in the wild:

When you think you're ready, head out into the wild to see what kind of tracks you can find. Take a camera or a notebook with you. It can be a lot of fun to document the tracks you find by taking pictures of them or drawing pictures of tracks in a notebook. Will you share what you find with us? Email us a picture or post one on Facebook. We'd love to see the tracks you find!

Wonderopolis

TEAM UNGER 9

Apr 1, 2012

I never knew that all animals leave tracks. I thought that some animals are so light and stealthy that they wouldn't make a mark, but I was wrong. I also learned that it is easiest to see tracks in the snow and mud. How would I identify a bird or an alligator? Thank you Wonderopolis for making this wonder!

Wonderopolis

Apr 2, 2012

We're so glad you liked this Wonder, Team Unger 9, and we really liked hearing the cool things you learned about animal tracks by exploring it! People who can identify animal tracks have practiced studying all the different types of tracks there are, from the smallest creature to the largest! They know exactly what to look for to identify which animal made which track! :-)

Lindsay

Wonderopolis

Lindsay

Jan 30, 2012

Dear Wonderopolis,
Can you pleeeeeease do a wonder on dogs pleeeeeease? I might be getting a dog over the summer. And I'd like to know more about dogs or how to take care of dogs. At least can you do a wonder on pets?
From,
Lindsay

Wonderopolis

Jan 30, 2012

Hello, Lindsay! We think a Wonder of the Day® about how to take care of a dog would be a GREAT idea! Thanks for suggesting it! Did you know that we already have some Wonders of the Day about pets? Here are some for you to explore:
Wonder #438 - Why Do Hermit Crabs Live In Borrowed Shells? http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-do-hermit-crabs-live-in-borrowed-shells/
Wonder #40 - How Can Four Legs Help You Become a Better Reader? http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-can-four-legs-help-you-become-a-better-reader/
Wonder #18 - Can You Train a Goldfish? http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/pavlovs-fish/
Wonder #231 - Why Do Cats Love Catnip? http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-do-cats-love-catnip/
Happy WONDERing! :-)

Wonderopolis

Jan 27, 2012

Those are all GREAT questions, Audrey! There is a new Wonder of the Day® every day here in Wonderopolis, and since today's Wonder is #481, that means we've been a great place to learn for 481 days! There are many awesome people who live and work here in Wonderopolis, too, and we all work together to make sure each Wonder is the best it can possibly be! We get LOTS of comments each day. Some Wonder Friends comment on the current day's Wonder, but lots of comments are made to past Wonders, too! We have Wonder Friends all over the world who comment at different times of the day and night, depending on what time it is where they live. :-)

Wonderopolis

Jan 27, 2012

Hi, Chad! Thanks for leaving us this great comment! We'll have to look for the toe patterns of coyotes vs. dogs the next time we have the opportunity to find those types of tracks! Have a WONDERful day! :-)

Wonderopolis

Paige

Jan 25, 2012

Dear Wonderopolis,
Cool wonder! Most animals leave tracks, but some might leave trails or evidence they were there. Like birds, they leave nests and feathers behind but not really tracks. I think tomorrow's wonder is about Penguins. P.S. My favorite animal is a penguin, can you please do it about them? It would be so cool! Thx.
XOXOXOXOXO,
Paige ;)

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

Hi, Paige! We can tell you LOVE penguins! Have you had a chance to check out Wonder #118 (What Is an Emperor Penguin?) yet? Here’s a link to it: http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-is-an-emperor-penguin/. We hope you like learning even MORE about penguins! :-)

Dani

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

We like that idea a lot, Dani! Thank you for suggesting a future Wonder of the Day® about a blue moon! In the meantime, check out these other fun Wonders that have to do with the moon:
Wonder #76 - What Does the Moon Do? http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-does-the-moon-do/
Wonder #128 - How Much Do You Weigh On the Moon? http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-much-do-you-weigh-on-the-moon/
Happy WONDERing! :-)

Nick

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

There are a lot of Wonder Friends who agree with you about tomorrow's Wonder, Nick! You guys are ALL awesome for trying to guess! Thank you for letting us know you thought today's Wonder was awesome, too! :-)

Wonderopolis

Anthony L.

Jan 25, 2012

I <3 CHESS!!!! It is very challenging and exiting! I can't wait for tomorrow! Did you know that there is a stalemate in chess? It is when you only have a king and you can only take 50 more moves until the games is over (sometimes it could be less or more).

Tiara

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

It's so great to hear form you again, Tiara! We think it's SUPER that you love to learn about animals! Have you visited all the Wonders in our ANIMALS category? Here is a link to LOTS of Wonders for you to explore: http://wonderopolis.org/category/animals/. Happy WONDERing! :-)

Wonderopolis

Hi, I'm Tamia from Ms. Brasdis' 7th grade class....what I learned from the wonder of the day is that all animals leave tracks from where they walk. Now, I think that tomorrow's wonder is going to be about science.

Wonderopolis

Hannah from Team Turner

Jan 25, 2012

Dear Wonderopolis,
I certainly wouldn't expect to see Zebra tracks unless I was at the zoo, or if I lived in Africa! I really enjoyed this wonder, Wonder! I wonder if aquatic mammals leave footprints? Can they leave them in the water to where we don't see them? I learned that all or most animals leave footprints, even if you can't see them! I think tomorrow's wonder of the day will be about maybe chess? Kings in the corner? Have you heard about that game? It's really fun! I look forward for tomorrow's wonder, wonder!!
:) :P
--Hannah from Team Turner

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

You always leave the best comments, Hannah! We really appreciate your excitement for learning and WONDERing! We've had a bunch of Wonder Friends leave us comments today to ask if aquatic animals leave tracks. You can do some exploring in our responses below to see what we all found out (it's really cool)! :-)

Victoria/Mrs. Boyd's class

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

Hi there, Mrs. Boyd's class! We're so happy to count you all as new Wonder Friends and hope you enjoy learning in Wonderopolis as much as we do! Here are some past Wonders that might help you in your WONDERing about deserts:
Wonder #170 - How Much Water Do You Need To Survive? http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-much-water-do-you-need-to-survive/
Wonder #342 - Do Animals Play Hide and Seek? http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/do-animals-play-hide-and-seek/
Wonder #397 - Can You Unwrap a Mummy? http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/can-you-unwrap-a-mummy/
Happy WONDERing! :-)

Miss Greiser's Kindergarten Cl...

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

Welcome to Wonderopolis, Miss Greiser’s Kindergarten Class! We're not sure what hedgehog tracks look like, but now we WONDER that, too! We think it's AWESOME that you guys did extra WONDERing about animal tracks after you explored today's Wonder of the Day®, and we encourage you all to do some more WONDERing to find out what types of tracks your favorite animals make! :-)

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

WOW, Danielle! Raising a bobcat sounds dangerous! We have seen nature shows on television about people who raise certain dangerous animals because they are hurt or orphaned. We think those people are brave!
To answer your question, yes, mice leave tracks. Little, bitty tracks, but they are tracks none the less! If you look closely, you can find mice tracks in mud, dust, or dirt. Their tails leave tracks, too! Thanks for WONDERing a little more about animal tracks after visiting today's Wonder! :-)

yamel

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

Hello, Yamel! Thank so much for your super comment! Yes, penguins leave tracks. They do slide around sometimes, it's true, but when they walk and there is snow on the ground, their penguin feet leave penguin tracks! :-)

Mrs. Smith's Grade 2,3 class

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

This is a WONDERful comment, Mrs. Smith's Grade 2, 3 class! Thank you for visiting today's Wonder together and for doing some extra WONDERing about the tracks of animals that can swim, like fish! There are some types of fish (called "ambulatory" or "walking" fish) that can "walk" up on to the shore and breathe air for periods of time. Some examples of these types of fish are mudskippers and walking catfish. We think it would be FUN to try to find out what the land tracks of these types of fish might look like!

Jarvis Second Grade EE

Jan 25, 2012

We learned a lot from the footprint game. We learned that all animals leave tracks. We thought of some animals that don't leave tracks. What about ocean animals? We discovered that we can see tracks around our world.

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

We are REALLY impressed with all the awesome WONDERing about ocean animal tracks that is being shared by different Wonder Friends in the comments for today's Wonder of the Day®! You guys are super smart to think about that, too, Jarvis Second Grade EE! We're proud of you! Thank you for letting us know you learned some new facts about tracks (cool rhyme!) today, and for leaving us this awesome comment! :-)

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

We think that is a SUPER question, Mrs. Rist’s 2nd Grade Class! We think animals that walk along the ocean's floor might possibly make some super light tracks, but those tracks are probably washed away very quickly with the changing ocean currents. We WONDER if marine biologists or other scientists have ever tried to make castings of underwater crustacean tracks and HOW the would do it if they could? Thanks for making US wonder a bit more today, too! :-)

Mrs. Newland's Class

Jan 25, 2012

This was a great article! We hope to use your clues to help track down a few of these animals someday! Some of the kids say they have been tracking before, but it's not that easy. Maybe with more practice we will have better luck!

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

We know you guys will be GREAT animal trackers after exploring today's Wonder together, Mrs. Newland’s Class! Please let us know if you find some animal tracks and what animals you think made them! We like learning new things, too! :-)

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

Good morning, Joe! Thanks for checking out today's Wonder of the Day® and for sharing that you like to track animals around your house! That's a GREAT guess you made about tomorrow's Wonder...we'll all have to check back to see if your guess was correct! :-)

Anthony

Wonderopolis

Jan 25, 2012

You ARE the first Wonder Friend to comment on today's Wonder of the Day® today, Anthony! Way to go! Thanks for your enthusiasm for tomorrow's Wonder. Did you have fun learning new things by exploring today's Wonder, too? We sure hope so! :-)